"Constitution My Ideology": Opposition's Veep Pick On Salwa Judum Verdict

Even as he continued to be criticised for a 2011 verdict which declared the Salwa Judum unconstitutional, former Supreme Court judge and the Opposition's vice-presidential nominee Justice (retired) B Sudershan Reddy said his only ideology is the Constitution.

Justice Reddy, along with Justice SS Nijjar, was part of a top court bench that had in July 2011 ordered the disbanding of Salwa Judum, ruling that using tribal youths as Special Police Officers in the fight against Maoists was illegal and unconstitutional.

Now pitted against National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee CP Radhakrishnan in the September 9 vice-presidential elections necessitated by Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation, Justice Reddy faces criticism over the 2011 judgment. "I am not a Naxal supporter. The Salwa Judum judgment was not in favour of the Maoists. If it was, what has it not been challenged till now?" he asked, while in conversation with NDTV.

A group of 18 former judges, including those from the Supreme Court, come out in Justice Reddy's support, saying the judgment nowhere supports, either expressly or by compelling implication of its text, Maoism or its ideology.

As he shores up support for his election run, Justice Reddy said he will write to all Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister and Union ministers, asking for their support. If elected, he said his foremost priority would be to protect and defend the Constitution. While Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu affirmed his support to Mr Radhakrishnan last week, Justice Reddy said he would reach out to him as well.

During his stint in the Supreme Court from January 2007 to July 2011, while serving as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and working as a Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Reddy paid special focus on access to education. Justice Reddy expressed strong disapproval of policies limiting access to higher education, particularly for disadvantaged groups.